A family story
It all started here, 70km from Agadir, in the heart of the Chtouka Aït Baha valley, near the village of Tagadirte, in Morocco.
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15 years ago, I arrived here with my father and I met my Moroccan family on my grandfather’s land. In summary, two years later, I decided to quit my job and build a production unit to make argan oil. I fell in love with this valley and stayed there. Today, we have developed a whole range of cosmetics based on argan oil. With my partners, we structured the sector and began the communication process that will allow us to sell our products. It is with pride that I continue a family history that takes root in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. It is also with pride that we produce argan oil of exceptional quality.
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Argan is endemic to Morocco. For millennia, the manufacture of this oil has been the result of ancestral know-how carried by Berber women who take turns from generation to generation to pass on this richness of Moroccan heritage. Through Igrane, we wanted to create a project for an equitable society, whose model is based on transparency and the sharing of the values of social, economic and environmental progress. Our first Igrane Cosmetics campaign is the first step in what we want to share: the tremendous work of these women, the richness of our intangible heritage and nature which offers us this precious nectar, argan oil.
A long manufacturing process resulting from great patience
Argan oil is an exceptional product as these therapeutic virtues are numerous. Its use has always been primarily food, making it possible to cover the needs for vitamin A, vitamin E (Tocopherol), antioxidants and essential fatty acids. The softness of our cosmetic argan oil is the result of a long process which begins tens of meters underground, where the roots of the argan tree will capture the water necessary for its growth. Patience is the key word, decades will pass before the tree gives us its first fruits (30 or 40 years before we get its first fruits).
From then on, a well-honed mechanism for several millennia takes place around each tree. It’s the harvest. This moment of sharing with the women of Benoît’s family, who for several days will collect the fruits, dry them, pulp them, crush them and sort them before extracting the oil in our laboratory.
From Maison Igrane to Igrane Cosmetics
Built 10 years ago, La Maison Igrane, a unique living space, houses the laboratory that produces our pure and organic argan oil. This is the last stage of production. Once the almonds are pressed, the oil will be decanted for several days before being filtered 6 times then bottled. This exceptional filtration process will make our argan oil one of the highest quality in the world. Unlike edible oil, the steps in manufacturing cosmetic argan oil will not roast the almond but cold press it. This is what makes its cosmetic use specific.
In order to market our products around the world, our distribution company takes over. Having access to the market is the only way to remain independent, to develop our range and thus be able to achieve the economic, human and environmental progress that is the raison d’être of Igrane Cosmetics.
